The Luzerne County Courthouse is seen recently. Roger DuPuis | Times Leader
                                The Luzerne County Courthouse is seen in a file photo. Luzerne County voters will fill five of the 11 county council seats in the upcoming Nov. 2 general election, and 10 contenders are on the ballot.
                                 Times Leader file photo

The Luzerne County Courthouse is seen recently. Roger DuPuis | Times Leader

The Luzerne County Courthouse is seen in a file photo. Luzerne County voters will fill five of the 11 county council seats in the upcoming Nov. 2 general election, and 10 contenders are on the ballot.

Times Leader file photo

<p>Walsh Waitkus</p>

Walsh Waitkus

<p>Velez</p>

Velez

<p>Saidman</p>

Saidman

<p>Sabatino</p>

Sabatino

<p>Lescavage</p>

Lescavage

<p>Lombardo</p>

Lombardo

<p>Perry</p>

Perry

<p>Thornton</p>

Thornton

<p>Wolovich</p>

Wolovich

<p>Vough</p>

Vough

Luzerne County voters will fill five of the 11 county council seats in the upcoming Nov. 2 general election, and 10 contenders are on the ballot.

Listed in their ballot order, the candidates are: Democrats Matthew Vough, Sheila Saidman, Jane Walsh Waitkus, Maryann V. Velez and Jimmy Sabatino and Republicans John Lombardo, Gregory S. Wolovich Jr., Chris R. Perry, Brian Thornton and Kevin Lescavage.

Pennsylvania voters are free to select candidates from any party in a general election.

Council members are elected for four-year terms at $8,000 annually. Their duties include approving the budget and larger contracts, appointing members to outside county boards, enacting codes and ordinances, confirming nominations to eight division head positions and hiring and evaluating the manager.

Some background on the candidates from their submissions, online postings and comments made by some participating in last week’s public forum held by the Wilkes-Barre Chapter of the NAACP:

Vough, 29, of Pittston, an incumbent, has a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Scranton. He has worked at Keystone Automotive Operations Inc. in Exeter for six years, currently as sales analyst.

As an example of his first-term accomplishments, Vough pointed to his outreach work helping struggling residents, including the homeless, elderly homebound during the COVID-19 stay-at-home order and those with substance use disorder.

He identified fiscal responsibility as a continued top priority, saying he has fulfilled promises to support job creation and financial recovery initiatives.

Vough said the county has made great strides reducing debt and improving its credit rating over the last few years. He pledged to keep supporting real estate tax breaks for large development projects on mine-scarred, blighted and contaminated sites, saying it makes sense to attract job-creating Fortune 500 companies on tracts that generate little or no tax revenue in their deteriorated state.

He also pledged to address problems with high employee turnover and job recruitment in some departments.

Saidman, 72, of Kingston, also an incumbent, has a master’s degree in psychology from Temple University and a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh. Her legal career included work as associate counsel with Jewelcor Inc. and the Gruen Watch Company, chief regional counsel at PNC Bank, an assistant public defender in Allegheny County and a prosecutor in the county District Attorney’s Office.

Saidman said she has provided “responsible representation” and served with compassion, understanding and concern for the issues of her neighbors across the county.

Her primary objectives for another term include fiscal prudence and continued support of commercial development, she said.

Saidman expressed pride for the major companies now locating on former coal lands because of the tax breaks she and some of her colleagues have supported.

County government also has become more transparent with extensive posting of documents on its website to keep the public informed, she said.

Walsh Waitkus, 73, of Dorrance Township, has master’s degrees in education and English literature and retired after working as an English professor and director of the Teaching and Learning Resource Center at Penn State Hazleton. She served on county council from 2016 through 2019.

Walsh Waitkus said she will “continue to be a watchdog” on county debt and other fiscal matters.

During her time on council, she was an advocate for repaving and repairing county roads and bridges and wants to continue pushing for infrastructure work.

Walsh said she was actively involved in council committees and worked to identify unused county-owned property that could be sold.

She also pushed for funding to combat gypsy moths and other environmental pests and said she understands the plight of county farmers and the devastation left by the spotted lanternfly.

Velez, 48, of Duryea, has a bachelor’s degree in health science from Ocean County College and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Walden University. She is the co-founder, president and CEO of United NEPA Alliance, a volunteer-based organization that works for the citizens of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

She said she is running the first time for political office because she believes everyone should have a voice in county government.

Velez said her election as the first Latino county council member would show how far the county has come with diversity and inclusion.

Describing herself as fiscally conservative, Velez said she deeply understands the community’s needs because she is “literally in the streets every day” working on projects for the elderly, homeless and other residents facing challenges and struggles.

Sabatino, 41, of Butler Township, graduated from Drexel University and owns and operates three Vesuvio’s eateries in the county with his siblings.

His policy priorities include rebuilding county infrastructure and improving outdoor spaces, property tax reform and identification of creative ways to increase county revenue.

Sabatino also wants to address food insecurity by setting up a system that guarantees access to hot meals for those in need. He said he witnessed this need as a local restaurant owner and through his volunteer work preparing and delivering meals to struggling residents.

He also said he would bring a “different voice and perspective” to county government as a small business owner and the first openly gay council candidate.

The challenges small businesses have been facing throughout the pandemic are “out of this world,” including difficulties obtaining supplies and workers, he said.

Lombardo, 28, of Pittston, received a bachelor’s degree in political science and media relations from Penn State University in 2015.

He currently works as a full-time firefighter/EMT at the City Fire Bureau.

Lombardo said he is largely running for county council because many of his friends and peers have left the area seeking better opportunities, and it bothers him that many have a negative view of the area that he does not share.

If elected, he wants to focus on economic development, fiscal responsibility and the preservation of local history and nature.

He pointed to the revitalization of downtown Pittston as a model he wants to promote in other county municipalities.

Lombardo said he believes diverse opinions on council makes for good governance. He said he prides himself on his “level-headedness” and, when warranted, his ability to make rapid life-and-death decisions in his work as an emergency responder.

Wolovich, 29, of Hanover Township, has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from King’s College and works as an assistant manager at Wegmans Food Market in Wilkes-Barre Township.

He said he is open to input from any residents and is interested in working with all municipalities. Wolovich has nearly met his goal of personally visiting and meeting with representatives of nearly all 76 municipalities in the county on the campaign trail to understand their concerns and perspectives, with only seven remaining on his list to complete before the Nov. 2 general.

Wolovich also wants to focus on promoting historic landmarks in the county and getting people involved in reactivating the county’s idle blighted property review committee.

He maintained his accounting training and fiscally conservative approach would be an asset to council.

Perry, 72, of Fairview Township, an incumbent, has a bachelor’s degree in secondary education and retired after a 36-year tenure in the Hazleton Area School District as a teacher, coach and athletic director.

He also retired from the National Guard after 25 years of service.

Perry said he has taken a very active role on council, including serving as council vice chairman and the chair of council’s Authorities, Boards and Commissions Committee, which screens and publicly interviews citizen applicants for outside boards.

Perry said he helped move the county forward by working with colleagues to develop fiscally sound budgets and support other changes that contributed to the county’s securing of an A- credit rating from Standard & Poor’s — the highest rating in county history.

Thousands of jobs will be created through economic development projects he supported, he said. He also noted he was among council members approving a 911 emergency radio communication upgrade to address radio interference and spotty coverage.

Thornton and Lescavage are running as a team, saying they had previously worked productively and effectively together on West Pittston Council. However, they emphasized they would vote independently if they are both elected to council.

They jointly cite their municipal experience overseeing a $10 million sewer project, negotiating collective bargaining agreements, removing and restoring blighted properties and hiring police and public works employees.

Both men reside in West Pittston.

Thornton, 61, graduated from Lehigh University with a degree in mechanical engineering.

He initially worked as a project engineer in New York City and has worked as a financial advisor in the county for 28 years. Thornton also served on West Pittston council for a decade — six as president.

Lescavage, 56, studied business administration for two years at Penn State and has worked as a sales representative for the Reading Coal Company for 36 years, where he covers a six-state territory.

He also said he has government experience serving seven years on West Pittston Council and four on the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority board.

Council make-up

The five council members elected Nov. 2 will take office in January and serve with six council members in seats that don’t expire until the end of 2023 held by LeeAnn McDermott, Walter Griffith, Tim McGinley, Kendra Radle, Robert Schnee and Stephen J. Urban.

Griffith, a Republican, is running for county controller Nov. 2 against Democratic incumbent Michelle Bednar. If Griffith wins, council would have to declare his council seat vacant and fill it with another Republican. Because the council vacancy would occur more than 18 months into the term, the appointee would serve until the end of 2023, the county’s home rule charter says.

Council members Harry Haas and Linda McClosky Houck will serve through the end of this year but could not run again under the charter because they were elected to three consecutive terms. Their first terms were for two years to allow for some staggered terms when the first council was seated under the charter that took effect in 2012.

Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.